Last month the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Cody Bellinger, Dylan Floro, Corey Seager and Julio Urias to one-year contracts for the 2021 season. Each of the four was eligible for salary arbitration.
So too was Scott Alexander, but he signed a one-year deal at the deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players. Corey Knebel was also said to have agreed to a contract for this season, though the team still has not made that official.
That still notably left Austin Barnes and Walker Buehler heading down a path of an arbitration hearing. That was avoided with Buehler as he reportedly agreed to a two-year contract this week.
According to the Associated Press, Barnes’ arbitration hearing is on the horizon:
Four players remain scheduled for hearings next week: Los Angeles catcher Austin Barnes, Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ, San Francisco second baseman Donovan Solano and Atlanta shortstop Dansby Swanson.
After the deadline passed and the Dodgers didn’t come to terms with Barnes and Buehler, it was reported both players sought a multi-year contract and otherwise would head to an arbitration hearing.
Barnes reportedly filed for a $2 million salary while the Dodgers countered at $1.5 million. He is going through the salary arbitration process for a second time, previously settling with the team at $1.1 million for the 2020 season.
L.A. went to arbitration hearings with Pedro Baez and Joc Pederson last year. Baez was successful, but Pederson lost his case and later voiced frustration with the process — in large part because it overlapped with a pending trade to the L.A. Angels.
Prior to that, the Dodgers didn’t have an arbitration hearing since defeating Joe Beimel in 2007.
Dodgers still face arbitration with Buehler
Buehler qualified for arbitration as a Super Two player, and even with his reported two-year contract, will still have to go through the process again in 2023 and 2024 before becoming a free agent.
This was the 26-year-old’s first time being eligible for salary arbitration.
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